SETIcon was a public convention organized by the SETI Institute and held twice in Santa Clara, California. It was an interdisciplinary conference, with talks focusing on a wide range of issues related to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The programs included panels with prominent scientists from NASA and SETI; talks by science fiction writers, artists, and actors; and panels to explore controversial issues and compare perspectives.[1] The sessions were non-technical and meant to increase awareness, interest, and funding for the SETI Institute. The convention attracted professional scientists, educators, space enthusiasts, and science fiction fans. Astronomical tattoos were not uncommon among attendees.[2]
The first SETIcon took place on 13–15 August 2010 and drew about 1,000 people.[3][4] It commemorated the 25th anniversary of the SETI Institute, the 50th anniversary of SETI, and the 80th birthday of Frank Drake, the radio astronomer who started Project Ozma and pioneered the SETI program.[3][5] Speakers included scientists Frank Drake, Alex Filippenko, Seth Shostak, Andrew Fraknoi, David Morrison and Jill Tarter; author Robert J. Sawyer; professional skeptic Phil Plait; graphic artist Paul Duffield; actor Tim Russ; and musician Mickey Hart.[5][6] During one of the panels, Seth Shostak said he expected proof of extraterrestrial life to be found within 25 years. "Young people in the audience, I think there's a really good chance you're going to see this happen."[7]
SETIcon II was held on 22–24 June 2012 and drew about 600 people and 60 speakers, including Bill Nye.[2][8][9] Recent findings from NASA's Kepler mission fueled much of the discussion—between 2009 and 2012 the experiment detected about 2,300 new exoplanets, making the discovery of intelligent extraterrestrial life increasingly plausible.[10] Among the returning speakers was Alex Filippenko, who during a panel called "Did the Big Bang Require a Divine Spark?" argued against the necessity of God as the first cause of the Big Bang.[11] He and Seth Shostak said that the laws of physics, specifically quantum fluctuations, can enable the universe to come into being spontaneously.[12] The "divine spark", Filippenko said, is whatever created the laws of physics; since science can't tell us what caused the divine spark, it is best to save a step and leave it at the laws of physics.[12] Shostak added: "So, it could be that this universe is merely the science fair project of a kid in another universe. I don't know how that affects your theological leanings, but it is something to consider."[13]
Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might range from simple forms like prokaryotes to intelligent beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations that might be far more advanced than humankind. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe. The science of extraterrestrial life is known as astrobiology.
The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high a priori likelihood of its existence, and by extension of obtaining such evidence. As a 2015 article put it, "If life is so easy, someone from somewhere must have come calling by now."
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other planets.
Frank Donald Drake was an American astrophysicist and astrobiologist.
Jill Cornell Tarter is an American astronomer best known for her work on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Tarter is the former director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute. In 2002, Discover magazine recognized her as one of the 50 most important women in science.
The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit research organization incorporated in 1984 whose mission is to explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe, and to use this knowledge to inspire and guide present and future generations, sharing knowledge with the public, the press, and the government. SETI stands for the "search for extraterrestrial intelligence".
Project Ozma was a search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) experiment started in 1960 by Cornell University astronomer Frank Drake, at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank at Green Bank, West Virginia. The object of the experiment was to search for signs of life in distant planetary systems through interstellar radio waves. The program was named after Princess Ozma, ruler of the fictional land of Oz, inspired by L. Frank Baum's supposed communication with Oz by radio to learn of the events in the books taking place after The Emerald City of Oz. The search was publicized in articles in the popular media of the time, such as Time magazine and was described as the first modern SETI experiment.
Seth Shostak is an American astronomer and author, and is currently the senior astronomer for the SETI Institute.
The communication with extraterrestrial intelligence (CETI) is a branch of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) that focuses on composing and deciphering interstellar messages that theoretically could be understood by another technological civilization. The best-known CETI experiment of its kind was the 1974 Arecibo message composed by Frank Drake.
The Allen Telescope Array (ATA), formerly known as the One Hectare Telescope (1hT), is a radio telescope array dedicated to astronomical observations and a simultaneous search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The array is situated at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Shasta County, 290 miles (470 km) northeast of San Francisco, California.
H. Paul Shuch is an American scientist and engineer who has coordinated radio amateurs to help in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).
Active SETI is the attempt to send messages to intelligent extraterrestrial life. Active SETI messages are predominantly sent in the form of radio signals. Physical messages like that of the Pioneer plaque may also be considered an active SETI message. Active SETI is also known as METI. The term METI was coined by Russian scientist Alexander Zaitsev, who denoted the clear-cut distinction between Active SETI and METI:
The science known as SETI deals with searching for messages from aliens. METI deals with the creation and transmission of messages to aliens. Thus, SETI and METI proponents have quite different perspectives. SETI scientists are in a position to address only the local question “does Active SETI make sense?” In other words, would it be reasonable, for SETI success, to transmit with the object of attracting ETI’s attention? In contrast to Active SETI, METI pursues not a local and lucrative impulse, but a more global and unselfish one – to overcome the Great Silence in the Universe, bringing to our extraterrestrial neighbors the long-expected annunciation “You are not alone!”
Robert Hansen Gray was an American data analyst, author, and astronomer, and author of The Elusive Wow: Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
The cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact is the corpus of changes to terrestrial science, technology, religion, politics, and ecosystems resulting from contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. This concept is closely related to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), which attempts to locate intelligent life as opposed to analyzing the implications of contact with that life.
Thomas Pierson was founder and CEO of the SETI Institute, a non-profit institute conducting research in Astrobiology.
Technosignature or technomarker is any measurable property or effect that provides scientific evidence of past or present technology. Technosignatures are analogous to biosignatures, which signal the presence of life, whether intelligent or not. Some authors prefer to exclude radio transmissions from the definition, but such restrictive usage is not widespread. Jill Tarter has proposed that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) be renamed "the search for technosignatures". Various types of technosignatures, such as radiation leakage from megascale astroengineering installations such as Dyson spheres, the light from an extraterrestrial ecumenopolis, or Shkadov thrusters with the power to alter the orbits of stars around the Galactic Center, may be detectable with hypertelescopes. Some examples of technosignatures are described in Paul Davies's 2010 book The Eerie Silence, although the terms "technosignature" and "technomarker" do not appear in the book.
Alien Encounters is a science fiction mini series on the Science Channel. The series explores how humanity might react to first-contact with aliens. The fictional series is presented as a documentary intermixed with commentary from scientists and sci-fi writers. The series begins with an alien signal detected by the SETI Institute and follows through alien contact and the creation of hybrids ("Brids") based on alien DNA.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to extraterrestrial life:
The Galileo Project is an international scientific research project to systematically search for extraterrestrial intelligence or extraterrestrial technology on and near Earth and to identify the nature of anomalous Unidentified Flying Objects/Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UFOs/UAP).
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